This animal explains the origin of the name of the Funeral
Range, California. The creature has a casket-like body, six to
eight feet long, with a shell running the whole length of its
back. Its four legs are long and wobbly, causing the terrashot
to sway uncertainly from side to side and forward and backward as it travels along.
The strange beast was first reported by some Mormon emigrants, who observed a peculiar procession entering the desert
from a certain mountain range, afterward named the Funeral
Mountains. They also witnessed the tragic fate of the creatures. One of the Mormons, aroused by his curiosity, made an
investigation which resulted in finding out about all that is
known of the terrashot. It seems that the animal lives in the
little meadows and parks in the higher portions of the range,
where it gradually increases in numbers, until by a strange
impulse it is seized by a desire to emigrate. They then form
long processions and march down into the desert, with the evident intention of crossing to other ranges that can be seen in
the distance, but none of them ever gets across. As they encounter the hot sands they rapidly distend with the heat, and
one after another they blow up with resounding reports, leaving
deep, grave-shaped holes in the sand.